Maybe it's not migraines.

For the last month now, I've been averaging around four migraine level headaches a week. I brought this up when I saw the doctor Friday who suggested that this could be my allergies acting up. I have started on a prescription nasal spray for allergies (fortunately it doesn't contraindicate with anything else I am on). I haven't had a bad headache today, but today is my second day on it. This stuff takes two weeks to start to really take effect.

I know that some of the headaches I had were definitely migraines because I had problems with visual halos around things and stuff before and after. The doctor suggested that if the allergy medication doesn't help, there may be something I can take to prevent migraines. As I am approaching the beginnings of second puberty (aka menopause), I know that my body is going to do weird things. I'm currently on birth control because of the fact that my body does weird things and it may be part of the reason why I have been having these headaches.

Either way, spending half of my day out of commission due to splitting headaches where the evil day star is too loud is really cutting into how much I get done during the week. It's really frustrating and I hope that this allergy stuff takes care of it. I know that I have had a few migraines this month because of the weather. Really wild swings in the weather triggers migraines for me. The running joke at my house is that I'm the human barometer between my arthritis and migraines.

The doctor's appointment Friday was to discuss how I'm doing with my diabetes and such. The doctor is pleased with the progress I have made. My A1C is at 6.5 which is half of what it was last year. (I started at 12.7.) My good cholesterol is a little low but the doctor attributes that to the fact that the bitter weather has made it difficult for me to get my daily walking in. I was going to talk to the care coordinator about my diet but she was out of the office. I still feel pretty confused and intimidated by the diet angle of all this.

The hardest part of the diet angle is figuring out what 'good' foods are. I've been reading and looking things up on the internet. I see a lot of fad diets that claim to cure diabetes. I don't think that's going to work for me. I see a lot of just plain bad advice (like drink okra infused water) and it disappoints me. The frustrating part of this research phase is that I feel like it is never ending. Also, a ton of people say 'eat salmon' and I have a very mild salmon allergy. I'm trying not to make that worse. I've been avoiding fatty foods because they give me an upset stomach more than the fact that they're pretty much all breaded and fried (though I confess I kinda miss mozzarella sticks and deep fried pickles).

I'm looking into making baked alternatives. I'll post something about the recipes I bash together. I've started a notebook for recipes that are diabetic friendly. I'm trying to approach this like it's science and have fun with it. I enjoyed doing lab work in college. It's just hard to find that fun feeling when there's never a break.